Apple introduces News app for iOS

Today Apple announced News, a new magazine-like app that aggregates content from ESPN, The New York Times, and Conde Nast among others.

News will be a more personalized approach to serving content than its previous news app, Newsstand. The new app recommends a series of publications when you first log on; you can also choose topics to follow. Apple said the news app will learn what you’re into and serve you content based on what you read. But it also supports a discovery feature that lets readers unearth new stories.

The new application supports rich typography and animation through its Apple News format. Design is a key component to the new app, which has a new feature called Photo Mosaic, a sort of gallery for news photos. Similar to Flipboard, the new application lets you swipe from article to article and publication to publication. Readers are no longer restricted to surfing one publication at a time.

News will roll out to the U.S., U.K., and Australia first.

Early reports noted that publishers will be able to keep 100 percent of advertising revenue, though Apple will help sell unsold ad inventory and take a cut of those revenues.

An increasing number of companies are trying to position themselves as the hub users visit to discover new content. Facebook recently launched a page called Instant Articles, which showcases curated content from select publishers that can be viewed more quickly in-app; music streaming app Spotify has also recently added news content, video, and entertainment content to its platform.

The launch of Apple’s News app will definitely give Flipboard a run for its money. With Flipboard facing increased pressure from new competition, it helps explain why the company might be considering an acquisition by Twitter.